Friday, December 8, 2017

Rainbow Vibes Finish

This little quilt has been all done for a couple of weeks, and actually has gone to a few yoga classes with me. I just haven't sat down to write up the finish post.  It was one of my Q4 goals for the 2017 Finish Along. My list is here.


This is my own design, Ribbon Stars, no revolutionary block, but a bit of a fun setting. This is the fourth time I've made my pattern, each version a bit different. You can get it for free in my Craftsy store. (affiliate link) I hope you're remembering (gulp, I haven't every day) to check the deal of the day with their Twelve Days of Christmas specials. Today is 60% off Boundless Lily and Loom; I actually bought some in a previous sale that I am going to get my hands on tomorrow when it arrives!

Like the majority of my quilts, this one has a bit of a story, one of the 'full circle' kind.  It begins with me reading Benartex's blog, Sew In Love With Fabric. Last summer, 2016, they announced that they were going to be putting out an ezine, Modern By the Yard, and if you subscribed, and then sent them emails of five friends who you think would also like to subscribe, you could win some fabric. Well, I did! To all three of the above! They sent me two bundles, 15 fat quarters in total:

and asked me to let them know what I made with the lovely fabrics. I used some of the yellows in various projects here and there, and some of the purple and orange in my Uncle Frank's quilt, con fuoco. The bundle of Fleurish, by Maria Kalinowski, sat in its stack, (despite being cut into, I always folded it back up all purty) for some time.  I don't know exactly when, but I decided to remake Ribbon Stars, with no borders, using Fleurish. I decided I'd do three stars with cool colour star points, and three with warm, and run the ROYG in the ribbon centres. Outside of the no waste flying geese, I sewed the top on Billie, my 1947 Featherweight.

This was before I'd bought my Little Foot (which I adore --that is an affiliate link btw, and I see it's still on sale), and was using the seam guide you see there. The seam guide works great except for sewing on either side of a drawn line... And thus, I made Rainbow Vibes. There was no red in the bundle so I used one from my stash that blended really well with the others.
Finished flimsy back on October 8 in the hedges
Does anyone know just what this hedge and vine is? Our neighbour doesn't. It's amazing how it grows so densely around the chain link fencing; you would never know the fence is there.
So strange to flower in October! There are red berries in another place, but our neighbour says there are two bushes along here, a trumpet vine (of which there is extremely little, drat) and wisteria (but I thought it was purple). I am pretty sure I've determined there are three different plants along the fence.
Anyhow, the quilt top got set to one side while other projects took a front seat.

At the end of November I popped it on the frame and spent a couple of days quilting it.

Judi Madsen's star motif - love this, third time I've used it. Such fun to quilt. Here you see my blue lines marking the square shape I created in the background.

The white space was calling, so I had some fun! I tried very hard to emulate Kathleen's Onion Peel quilting motif. It looks simple... I drew it several times... but it's harder than one thinks! Maybe doing it for the first time on a 45° angle was not such a good idea... Meh, this is my quilt, and overall I like the effect, and hey, one has to start somewhere right?
You can see some of the Onion Peel motif on the right, some ghost pinwheels in the top left corner, and the dot to dot motifs I did.

I used an older rainbow stripe from my stash to bind it, (it matched perfectly!), machine stitching it for speed.

I tried to get the sun to show the quilting texture, hanging it off a tree branch of course:

But I actually got a better see-through pic there, LOL
Love it! We had a gorgeous November, as you can see from the healthy green grass. This was the 24th.
I actually (gasp!) forgot to sew on a fabric label before quilting it, so I did one in the corner, Jasmine-style.

I had barely finished writing on the label, when someone made herself comfy on the quilt. Cat-approved, as always!
The backing is a piece I snagged at JoAnn's in Detroit on a good sale, knowing I'd need a few rainbow-type backings for my RSC2017 projects. Here's another look:
Yes, that shot is after it was all washed up, nice and crinkly texture.

Would you like to see the front all crinkly?
I actually think the first shot, of the unwashed quilt, shows the quilting a bit better. I am happy that I did get a kind of "squares" effect in the centre row. I also like the effect of the ghost pinwheel blocks in the top two corners.

So this quilt happened because of my win of Benartex fabric with the launch of their ezine, Modern By the Yard. By the end of this year I will have had three of my designs featured in various issues of this ezine! Kind of comes full circle, doesn't it? And the third quilt, the latest is...another rainbow quilt, 😊🌈 but because it's coming out in the next issue, I can't show you. I do think you will like it! I can show you the fabric:
Dot Crazy by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr, should be in stores now

I designed another shadow quilt, which I plan to run as a Quilt Along in the spring of 2018, like I did Freefall, so watch for the ezine. You may want to sign up for email notifications for the Sew In Love With Fabric blog, so you'll know when the issue is out and you can download your copy!

Quilt Stats:
Pattern:  Ribbon Stars mmm! quilts design here on Craftsy)
Size: 36X39" pre-washing; 35X37 3/8" after washing
Fabric:  Fleurish by Maria Kalinowski for Kanvas Studio
Batting: Hobbs 80/20 cotton/polyester
Quilted: on Avril my Avanté;
Threads:  pieced with Gütermann cotton; quilted with Superior Threads So Fine! #401 50 wt and Aurifil 3817 50 wt

Linking up
Confessions of A Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
Busy Hands Quilts
TGIFF at Devoted Quilter
My Quilt Infatuation
2017 Finish Along when it opens

31 comments:

  1. Your quilting sets off the design beautifully, Sandra. It is a very full circle kind of quilt and post, and another QAL? Sweet!!! :)

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  2. Bright and stunningly lovely, And another QAL, roll on 2018.

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  3. I love the bright cheery colours and the quilting is gorgeous!!!

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  4. Absolutely beautiful from the design, the fabrics and right down to the quilting!

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  5. So that little foot will fit all featherweight machines? I think I need to order it.

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  6. Your Rainbow Vibes quilt is beautiful but I am really impressed with the quilting! Congrats. mary

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  7. So bright and happy. The backing is perfect, too.

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  8. wow this is wonderful. so happy and cheery. and your top quilting is gorgeous

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  9. I love this quilt, Sandra, as well as the story that goes with it. Full circle, indeed! So neat. Years ago, I read an article about Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr and their quilts. My favorite was Some Settlement May Occur. I haven't seen this fabric, but oh my goodness. I may need to do some fabric acquisition . . . hahaha.

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  10. When it's all crinkly and finished, it just begs to be touched as well as seen.

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  11. Well done. It's so bright and beautiful. Your quilting is amazing...as always.

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  12. Yay!! It's great to see this bright bit of loveliness all quilted up and finished! I love the on-point squares of quilting down the center of the quilt and the curlicue motif in the rainbow centers. And that backing is just perfect, perfect for Rainbow Vibes. Very schmart to have picked that up, knowing you'd need rainbow goodness in large chunks for backings.

    Your new project is intriguing with that fabric pull. Yum! The colors are so clear and the patterns so crisp. Are they also Benartex fabrics?

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  13. Good to see it all finished here. It's so dynamic! Love the quilting in the star points, too. Lots of energy--like you!

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  14. Oh, my goodness, it is gorgeous! And truly makes a statement!

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  15. What a bright, fun quilt! I really like the look of the rainbow striping incorporated in the stars. And that's a fantastic backing print.

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  16. Groovy quilt and quilting!! LOVE it from top to bottom and front to back. PERFECT binding option, as well!

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  17. It really IS a fun setting. The quilting is beautiful, and of course ya gotta love the crinkly look!

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  18. Your quilting took this flimsy to a whole new level and it has Bella's approval. Congratulations on a wonderful finish!

    -Soma

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  19. What a bright, happy quilt - I love it! And your quilting is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the story of this quilt, and I didn't know about that ezine. I've now subscribed, and I'm looking forward to seeing your quilt in the next issue! Thanks for the link!

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  20. The quilting is stunning, Sandra! I love the boxes you created in the middle row. It's just such a fun and happy quilt :)

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  21. I love this pattern and have it printed; I just have to decide which fabrics to use. The quilting is absolutely stunning and there is no way I'm going to replicate it. And big YAY for another QAL with you. I signed up for the newsletter so I don't miss it.

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  22. I won the same fabrics! I haven't had the same experience of publishing but maybe my recent star can turn into a publishable pattern!! We'll see. Signing up for the QAL!

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  23. I let out an audible gasp when I clicked on your post. What a stunning quilt - so rich, and colorful. Love love love the quilting. Congratulations, Sandra. Three designs!!! I am so proud to call you my friend. Wishing you lots of creativity this season - so that you can keep doing and keep inspiring others.

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  24. What a fun and bright rainbow quilt, I love the colors and the stars.

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  25. I've enjoyed catching up with your blog and seeing what you have been up to from bowls, to cows, to rainbows. And congrats to your sweet daughter! I love your quilting on this (and your label).

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  26. Very cool quilt. I really like the quilting on it, too, especially the diamonds around the middle squares.

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  27. Such a fun colourful quilt and a fun colourful story!! Great use of your fabric winnings Sandra. Oh and beautiful quilting to finish it off. I have this design marked to use - one day :-)

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  28. Oh so many things to love about this quilt! I just learned a new purchasing trick from you. Buy pretty rainbow fabrics for backing! LOVE that backing fabric!

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  29. This is beautiful and your quilting really complements it nicely! Great finish! On behalf of the FAL hosts, thank you for joining us!

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